1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a piezoelectric ceramic to be used in surface mount type piezoelectric components which must be resistant to heat and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
As piezoelectric ceramics used in ceramic filters and the like, piezoelectric ceramics mainly composed of lead zirconate titanate (PZT or Pb(Ti.sub.x Zr.sub.1-x)O.sub.3) or the like have been widely used. Materials used for ceramic filters which have excellent characteristics in that group delay time (GDT) characteristics are flat and phase distortion is small, must have a small mechanical factor of merit Qm. In order to improve the piezoelectric characteristics of such ceramics, various additives in very small amounts have been added to them. Known materials include those obtained by adding niobium oxide, antimony oxide, tantalum oxide and the like as additives to lead titanate zirconate and those obtained by substituting rare earth elements such as Sr, Ba, Ca and La for a part of Pb atoms in lead titanate zirconate.
However, piezoelectric ceramics having a small Qm value as described above have had a shortcoming in that even such a ceramic having a high Curie point suffers shifts in resonant and antiresonant frequencies at elevated temperatures because of a decrease in the electromechanical coupling factor K when the electrodes formed on both ends of the piezoelectric ceramic are opened. This has resulted in a problem in that such a ceramic used as a surface mount type filter element suffers reduction in filter characteristics when exposed to a high temperature (about 250.degree. C.) during reflow soldering.
As a solution to this problem, it has been reported that the specific resistance of a grain boundary portion of a piezoelectric ceramic having a small Qm value and a high Curie point can be reduced to improve heat-resisting properties by thermally diffusing a manganese compound from the surface of the piezoelectric ceramic to distribute an oxide of manganese unevenly so that it concentrates in the grain boundary layer in a high density. See, e.g., JP-A-6-1655, JP-A-6-1656 and JP-A-1657.
However, there has been a problem from the viewpoint of manufacture in that the thermal diffusion of the manganese compound from the surface of the piezoelectric ceramic causes a change in the structure of the grain boundary of a piezoelectric ceramic which has been sintered in advance and in that characteristics significantly vary if the amount of Pb in the piezoelectric ceramic fluctuates due to evaporation during manufacturing or if the temperature distribution in the thermal diffusion furnace is great. Therefore, it has been difficult to perform thermal diffusion in a large amount and in a stable manner, which has made the reduction in the specific resistance of a grain boundary portion insufficient to improve heat-resisting properties.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a piezoelectric ceramic in which the above-described problems are solved and which has a small mechanical factor of merit Qm and excellent heat-resisting properties, e.g., a piezoelectric ceramic for filter elements which is compatible with surface mounting and a method for manufacturing the same in a large amount and in a stable manner.